In the last six months, 30,000 people donated to Justin Trudeau but Stephen Harper still outpaced him

OTTAWA – Federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has unveiled two new advertisements just as Election Canada records show more Canadians donated money to the Liberals over the past six months than to the Conservatives.

The ads in French and English are similar to others released by Trudeau in the spring, and feature the Liberal leader promising to stand up for “the Canadians who built this country, the middle class.”

“My priority is you,” he concludes in the English ad. “And if somebody says that priority is wrong, then ask yourself, what are their priorities?”

In an accompanying email to party supporters, Trudeau asks for more donations to help ensure more Canadians see the video, foreshadowing a television blitz over the coming weeks.

The ads were revealed Thursday, the same day quarterly financial reports published by Elections Canada showed the Liberals had received donations from more than 30,000 Canadians over the past three months.

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That was about 1,000 more donors than the Conservatives had in July, August and September, and continued a trend started in April, May and June, which saw 38,000 Canadians give money to the Liberals, as compared to 30,000 to the Tories.

The Conservatives can still be reassured by the fact they still raised more money than the Liberals over that period ($8.3 million to $5.2 million), but the number of individual donors could represent a change in the country’s political landscape.

The Conservatives have historically demolished the other federal parties when it comes to raising money, thanks to both a well-honed fundraising operation and a strong and dependable network of donors across the country.

This gives the Tories more money for attack ads, research and events than the other parties, as well as a larger number of politically engaged and motivated supporters.

The Liberals, in contrast, long relied on corporate donations and so were hit harder than any other party when such donations were banned in 2006.

These numbers clearly show that support for the Liberal Party is growing and strong

Elections Canada records show that in the quarter ending March 2007, only 4,365 Canadians had given money to the Liberals, as compared to 45,192 to the Conservatives and 14,782 to the NDP.

While the numbers indicate the average Conservative donor still gave almost twice as much as the average Liberal donor (about $139 to $75), Liberal Party spokeswoman Andree-Lyne Halle said the results are encouraging.

“To us, these numbers clearly show that support for the Liberal Party is growing and strong and that the Liberal Party and its leader are attracting new support and interest all across the country,” she said in an email.

The number of donors to the NDP have remained relatively stable, hovering between 18,000 and 24,000 over the past two years.